The method is based on the Turing Test used in
Artificial Intelligence research and explores the extent to which participants
are able to reproduce the discourse of different social groups. The idea is
that, where socialisation has enabled participants to develop interactional
expertise, they will be indistinguishable from contributory experts even though
they have no practical experience. In contrast, where participants do not have
the socialisation needed to develop interactional expertise they will be
identified as non-experts by the judge.

We are using the Imitation Game as a comparative research method to explore
social interactions and, by implication, social integration on topics including
Religion, Sexuality and Race/Ethnicity. Other potential applications of the
Imitation Game include: pedagogic innovation in science teaching, evaluating
the success of internships in developing interdisciplinary research, and the
qualitative exploration of social identity and group membership.

Evans, Robert and Crocker, Helen (2013) The Imitation Game as a Method for
Exploring Knowledge(s) of Chronic Illness, Methodological Innovations
Online, Vol. 7 (2) <http://dx.doi.org/10.4256/mio.2013.007>